LONDON (AP) - Authorities evacuated a town and the Blue Lagoon spa in southwestern Iceland on Tuesday as a volcano threatened to erupt for the eighth time.
Volcano begins erupting in southwestern Iceland after a nearby town and spa are evacuated
LONDON (AP) - A volcano began erupting in southwestern Iceland on Tuesday, just hours after authorities evacuated a nearby community and a geothermal spa, one of Iceland's biggest tourist attractions.
Flames and smoke shot through the air as the volcanic fissure opened near the town of Grindavik, where some 40 homes have been evacuated, national broadcaster RUV reported. The community, located on the Reykjanes Peninsula, was largely evacuated a year ago when the volcano came to life after lying dormant for 800 years.
Webcams showed molten rock spewing out toward the community. Sirens sounded in Grindavik while the nearby Blue Lagoon geothermal spa was also evacuated.
"The total length of the eruptive fissure is now about 1,200 meters (3,937 feet) and continues to extend southward,” Iceland’s Met Office said in a statement, adding that it had received a report that a hot water pipeline had broken in the northern part of Grindavík.